School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Agnes Klug loved the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and the school’s community felt the same way about her.
When Sister Mary Agnes died May 28, the college’s administration remembered her as a tireless proponent of Notre Dame, a school she graduated from in 1931 and worked at for 39 years.
“Sister Mary Agnes devoted her life to the college she loved, and all of us at College of Notre Dame are the better for it,” said Dr. Mary Pat Seurkamp, president of the college. “She was an amazing woman with a quick wit and ever-present smile. She was known and admired by all the students of her day, and she always took a great interest in them.”
Before she died peacefully at Maria Health Care Center in Towson, Sister Mary Agnes was the second-oldest living College of Notre Dame graduate. She turned 100 in March and was celebrating her 75th year as a School Sister of Notre Dame.
She marked her milestone birthday in April with friends at a Baltimore Orioles baseball game.
In a 2001 interview with The Catholic Review, Sister Mary Agnes said she paced during Orioles games.
“I have to take a walk because I get excited when we’re not winning,” she said.
Born March 23, 1909, Sister Mary Agnes was baptized at St. Mary of the Assumption in Govans and was the first of four children in her family.
Eleven years after graduating from Notre Dame, Sister Mary Agnes returned to the school in 1942 as a chemistry teacher. She taught for 15 years before becoming the school’s director of admissions in 1957.
She was named Notre Dame’s first director of planned giving in 1972, holding the position for nine years.
When she left the school, she became the director of activities and assistant tour director at Villa Assumpta. She established the Villa’s gift shop and managed it until 2008.
When she was 93, she told The Catholic Review she rode a stationary bicycle for up to 20 minutes a day.
“It means I can walk,” she said with confidence and humor in the 2002 interview. “It means my arms and legs are good and I can genuflect and do other activities.”
During her career, she was a participant in Dr. David Snowden’s “Nun Study,” a landmark research into Alzheimer’s disease. She participated in the study’s tests and evaluations annually and agreed to donate her brain for research.
She is survived by her sister, Regina Smith of Towson, and her brother, Alan Klug, also of Towson.
A memorial Mass is scheduled to be held June 20 at 10 a.m. at Villa Assumpta.
Jennifer Williams contributed to this story.